Tag Archives: Superhero films

Despite critics panning the 2014 Turtles, audiences still flocked to see the movie because of one thing: IT’S THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES FOR GODSAKES. These are characters that non geeks and nerds love because the four Turtles have unique personalities and great chemistry together. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is the newest entry in the film franchise. Yes, the critics are panning the movie but honestly their opinion shocks me because this movie is a lot better than the 2014 reboot. It might be the best Turtles movie ever.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows begins with the four turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo still conceal themselves from the public eye to fight crime in the New York City. They fight during the night, and train during the day or be teenagers and do nothing. April O’Neil (Megan Fox) is there only connection to the human world. She is currently tracking Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry), and believes he is working with the Foot Clan and Shredder (Brain Tee). Shredder has plans his own to make an army to combat and get revenge on the Turtles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows does have major flaws. The dialogue can be so over the top like “I am going to be a detective someday” as Casey Jones yells when he gets suspended from the force. He also taunts Shredder in the movie. Who taunts Shredder? Seriously, major plot hole, the Shredder is the most dangerous person on the planet and could kill Casey in a heartbeat. Shredder is a throw away character. He literally does nothing. Krang is god awful. He doesn’t do much either. The positives outweigh the negatives.

The main positive are the Turtles and their chemistry. They make the movie fun because of their personalities. The Turtles have to deal with conflicts within the team. The additions of Rocksteady, Bebop, and Baxter Stockman are another positives. Rocksteady and Bebop are formidable foes against the Turtles. They do fight once, and the winner is not who you expect. Stockman is portrayed accurately by Perry. He’s manipulated by other’s with power like he usually is. Perry makes the scenes with him more entertaining because his commitment to the character.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows isn’t a perfect movie. It’s more entertaining their X-Men: Apocalypse and Batman V. Superman. The audience walked out of the theater smiling and enjoying the movie. On a side note, I had to convince someone to go see X-Men: Apocalypse last night. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows gets a 3.5 out of 5.

The last Superman movie, Man of Steel, divided many fans and critics. People were instantly excited when Warner Bros and Zack Synder announced at 2013 Comic Con that Batman would be in the next Superman movie. Batman V. Superman has a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics. However, fans have said screwed the critics and either really enjoyed or liked the movie. The fans have one more joining their opinion on Batman V. Superman. Batman v. Superman is a good movie but could be better movie.

Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is a witness to Superman’s (Henry Cavil) and General Zod’s epic battle that destroys most of Metropolis. The battle and destruction of Wayne Tower leaves Bruce scarred and full of vengeful rage towards Superman. 18 months later, the question still remains “Is Superman a trustworthy force of good” in the world. The Senate debates the question while Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is secretly manipulating behind the scenes of politics and using other methods to destroy Superman. His actions eventually lead to a giant conflict between Superman and Batman. However, there is an enemy lurking in the wings and an ally waiting to revealed for Batman and Superman have yet to discover.

Lets start with the bad first. No, it’s not Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne or Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. The worst part of the film is poorly edited first hour of the movie which tries to add subplots in the movie. The scenes are choppy and jump to quickly to another scene involving a different subplot. One scene particular is Bruce Wayne and Alfred (Jeremy Irons) discussing attending Lex Luthor’s party to obtain Luthor’s knowledge about how to deal with Superman. The scene has maybe 5 lines of dialogue between them, and doesn’t give the audience a chance to emotional connection to the pair like in previous Batman movies. The scene shown in the trailers when Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent banter with each other about the role of Batman and Superman is interrupted to soon. After the dialogue, there is no tension because Lex Luthor immediately steps in and breaks up what could be an epic stair down. My final complaint about the movie is how Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is the problem solver in every mystery in the movie. Even though she is a journalist, Lois is overused and not allowing the other characters to solve problems themselves. However, the good outweighs the bad.

Bruce Wayne (Aflleck) confronting Diana Prince (Gadot)

Batman V. Superman has many positives. For one, the portrayal of Lex Luthor by Jesse Eisenberg is perfect. Luthor is a devious sociopath that is obsessed with one thing, to destroy Superman at any cost. Eisenberg brings a lot of cockiness and intelligence to Luthor and probably is the best version of Lex Luthor in film history. Secondly, Ben Affleck is a great Batman. He has the rage and vengefulness that drives Batman. He is brutal but doesn’t cross a line. Affleck’s Bruce Wayne is decent but not the best ever. The acting overall is tremendous. Third, the plot is not that bad. Even though the first hour is very choppy, the plot of the movie is enjoyable. The character movitations are clear maybe besides Superman wanting to take down Batman. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) teaming up with the pair is a great scene in the movie and advances the plot too. That’s not fully explained but the plot has quite a few twists. The twists allowed the cameos leaving the audience wanting Justice League sooner. Although, those cameos could have been handled better. Finally, the action in the movie is completely enjoyable. The action scenes make this movie really enjoyable than Man of Steel. The action wasn’t over the top which allowed the audience really keep focus on the plot. The strong acting made the action allowed the audience to become emotionally invested.

Overall, the weak first hour of the movie of shortchanging scenes and the overuse of Lois Lane as plot point drags Batman V. Superman down. However, Eisenberg made a strong villian, and Affleck was a exceptional Batman. The action was great and the plot was still good eventhough it was shortchanged. Batman v. Superman gets a 3.5 out 5.